was tuned to news radio (and no i did not want to listen to it, dad was drving us to the temple and the radio was just as that frequency) and there was this discussion between the cliched distinguished panel of judges and students from st nichs and uwc.
it was titled, 'do youths care about peace?'
at first i though it was rather laughable. i mean well duh, we do care about peace. even dull headed bimbos have to care about peace at some level. i mean where are they gonna get a proper manicure if the streets are no longer safe? then again they're probably to daft to notice...
but after listening to the on-going discussion, i realise that the word 'care', in this case at least, constitutes doing something about it as well, to find solutions; an emotional link coupled with a feeling of wanting to do something about it.
which got me thinking: even if i do care about peace and all the (obviously) positive impacts it brings, what can a normal 18-year old kid do?
we have not, unlike the previous generation, suffered through war, so we have no idea what times were like and how people will react to us. we are not equipt with the necessary skills to be the next nelson mendela. we are not capable of such a large scale project. as it is, the curriculum in schools already leave us with no time to do anything else.
the least we can do is not to stir racial/ religious conflict in singapore considering that we're living in a multi-racial society and all, the same ol song if you know what i mean. this racial issue has been so drilled into us that it is now played out into real life on a subconscious level to majority of s'poreans no? other than that i cant think of anything else that a teen can do.
sure we know that peace is important and yea we care about it but c'mon, we're only teenagers. we cant handle the big stuff yet. we'll definitely do our part now on a individual level and that itself plays a huge role. as for the larger regional/global issues, i doubt that a s'porean teen can do much that will make a significant impact on the world.
it was titled, 'do youths care about peace?'
at first i though it was rather laughable. i mean well duh, we do care about peace. even dull headed bimbos have to care about peace at some level. i mean where are they gonna get a proper manicure if the streets are no longer safe? then again they're probably to daft to notice...
but after listening to the on-going discussion, i realise that the word 'care', in this case at least, constitutes doing something about it as well, to find solutions; an emotional link coupled with a feeling of wanting to do something about it.
which got me thinking: even if i do care about peace and all the (obviously) positive impacts it brings, what can a normal 18-year old kid do?
we have not, unlike the previous generation, suffered through war, so we have no idea what times were like and how people will react to us. we are not equipt with the necessary skills to be the next nelson mendela. we are not capable of such a large scale project. as it is, the curriculum in schools already leave us with no time to do anything else.
the least we can do is not to stir racial/ religious conflict in singapore considering that we're living in a multi-racial society and all, the same ol song if you know what i mean. this racial issue has been so drilled into us that it is now played out into real life on a subconscious level to majority of s'poreans no? other than that i cant think of anything else that a teen can do.
sure we know that peace is important and yea we care about it but c'mon, we're only teenagers. we cant handle the big stuff yet. we'll definitely do our part now on a individual level and that itself plays a huge role. as for the larger regional/global issues, i doubt that a s'porean teen can do much that will make a significant impact on the world.
<< Home